Humidifier



, nozzles.

Patented Jan. 23, 1940 -TT UNITED STATES mun-:NT OFFICE 2,187,778 HUMIDIFIER Edward J. Gardner, Horicon, Wis., assignor to Gardner Manufacturing Company, Wis., a corporation of Wisconsin Horicon,

Application July 22, 1936, Serial No. 91,861

5 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in Z humidifiers.

, It is the object of the invention to provide'a novel and improved humidifier particularly designed for use in connection with hot air furnaces and having an improved means for atomizing water without destroying the inertia of the stream, whereby the energy of the stream may be used to circulate air either from the exterior of the furnace to the interior thereof, or from one interior portion of the furnace to another.

The' specific atomizing means per se is not claimed herein, as it comprises the subject matter of a divisional application filed December 28,

1936, Serial No. 117,807, and entitled Atomizing It is another object of the invention to provide improved vmeans for the control of a humidifier either automatically or manually or both, and to Figure 1. f

in transverse section taken Figure/l is a view similar to Figure 2, showing a modified embodiment of the invention.

,Figure 5 is an enlarged detail in axial section through-the atomizing nozzle.

, Figure 6 is a view of the nozzle in end elevation.

Figure 7 is a detail view in perspective, of a baffle within the nozzle as it appears on an enlarged scale.

. Like .parts are identified by the same reference characters throughout the several views.

;. My improved humidifier comprises a box preferably of generally rectilinear form. I have deslg- 9 nated a suitable box by reference character 8 inFigs. l, 2, and 3, and by reference character 86 in Fig. 4. This box is preferably insulated at leastin part by means of a jacket 9 (90 in Fig. 4)

and intervening thermal insulation I0 (10 in Fig. 4) me 'tofix my box in a horizontal position in any portion of the wall of any conventional furnace An adjustable mounting collar enables jacket I l. A suitable opening is cut as at 12 in thefurnace jacket or housing, and the two parts 14 andjlfi of the rectangular collar are adjusted 'upon each other to engage the upper and lower surface of the jacket 9 of the box. The exact adjustment will of course depend on the angle of the furnace housing H. The clamping bolts I6 maintain the parts of the collar in the desired rear of the nozzle.

adjustment, and the flanges ll of the collar are then secured to the jacket 9 of the box by means of screws 18, the holes for which will be tapped at theproper locations to support the box in a horizontal position. The corners of the collar are then anchored to the furnace casing by means of the screws l8. a

Substantially equal portions of thehumidifier box are within and outside of the furnace casing. Exteriorly of the casing the box is provided with a drain pipe Zll and a pipe 2i leading from a suitable source of water supply to the nozzle generically designated by reference character The nozzle is preferably located outside of the casing of the furnace proper, and is directed toward the end of the box which is within the furnace casing. This end o-i the box has restricted communication through port 26 with the air chamber. in the interior of the furnace, such communication preferably being controlled by a damper 21. It is not necessary that this damper be automatically controlled. I have shown a simple hand control comprisinga link 28 extending through the. opposite end of the; box and exposed for manual adjustment. 1

At the outer end of the box there is preferably a'detachable closure affording access to the interior. In the device shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 this closure comprises a plate 29 overlapping the terminal flange 30 of the box 8 and held in place in Fig. 1 to receive the end of the adjusting link 28, such link being notched for engagement with the flange 30 to maintain the damper 2] inadjusted position.

trolled by pivoted air valve 33 to-admit any desired volume of air from the exterior of the furnace to the box to relieve the vacuum whichis fonned'behindthe nozzle 25 during its operation.

In the device shown in Fig. 4 the closure 290 is engaged at its. bottom within the flange 30,0 and it has no external air admission port; This device is particularlyintended for use in furnaces having forced air circulation in which the pres-' sure would expel air from an external port inby awingnut 3i. The plate is slotted as shown .3 There Is an opening at 32 in the vplate constead of admitting air at such port. Therefore the device shown in Fig. 4 has integrally incorporated-in thebox a flue-35 which leads from the air chamber of the furnace around thenozzle 25, to communicate with the box proper atthe Thus the air circulated by the nozzleinthe Fig. 4 structure is. air which has already been heated in the furnace; The partition wall 36between the flue and the box proper support for the nozzle as shown.

. .-5 5 vis, however, preferably insulated and it provides Details of -the nozzle are shown in Figs. 5, 6

and 7. The supply pipe 2| terminates in a chambered fitting 38 shouldered at 39 to receive a screen which is held to the shoulder by a ring 4| upon which I seat the bafile 42 which is shown in detail in Fig. 7 and which comprises a disk having a lip offset at 43 to provide a tangential passage for the water.

The cap 45, screw threaded to the chamber fitting 38, has a gasket 46 which seats upon the disk 42 and holds the parts in assembly. The cap itself has a minute opening at 48 through which thewater is discharged in a whirling jet. A fine wire bafiie 58 is mounted in the retaining nut and has a radial portion extending directly across the cap in front of the aperture 48 to intercept the whirling stream of water issuing therefrom. This stream encounters the bafile and is thoroughly atomized thereby, but the cross section of the bafiie is so minute that it does not materially destroy the momentum energy of the forward movement of the water issuing from the orifice 48.

Thus the spray or mist of finely divided water leaving the nozzle continues with considerable momentum. energy through the box to the delivery opening thereof in the interior of the furnace. A slight upward inclination 5| at the inner end of the box prevents any water accumulating in the bottom of the box from dripping into the furnace and assures its return by gravity to the discharge drain 20.

The type of nozzle herein disclosed would tend to become clogged by calcareous deposits if it were not for the particular arrangement thereof within a box partially insulated and partially exposed at the exterior of the furnace. There is no circulation of hot air past the nozzle in either form of the device except such circulation of heated air as occurs in the Fig. 4 construction, and this circulation is limited to that induced by the operation of the nozzle. Obviously the nozzle is cooled during operation by the water which it handles, and consequently there is no tendency for foreign matter to become deposited therein. The intake flue 35 and the exhaust port 26 are so formed and are so closely adjacent to each other, that when the nozzle 25 is not in operation there is little or no tendency for air to circulate through the device and such heat as penetrates through the insulated walls by radiation is passed on to the exterior by radiation, the end wall being uninsulated.

The specific form of the nozzle is very desirable in promoting the flow of air, since any atomizing nozzle which obstructed the water to such a degree as to destroy its momentum would preclude the operation of a device of the character disclosed. The mounting is also important to the result, since it not only facilitates the application of the humidifier to any ordinary form or shape of furnace wall, but it also enables the device to be adjusted to the horizontal position in which it is designed to function.

The control may be accomplished either manually or automatically, and may involve control either of the damper 21 which controls the air and mist, or by means of a valve 53 and the solenoid 54 to regulate the water supply. The wires 55 for energizing the solenoid may be controlled by any suitable humidostat switch.

I claim:

1. A humidifier comprising the combination with a chamber of rectangular section, of a mounting collar therefor including a pair of plates rectangularly notched to engage about said chamber and slidable upon each other for adjustable engagement with opposite sides of said chamber at a variety of angles of said plates with respect to said chamber, the end of the chamber at one side of the collar being substantially entirely open and the end of the chamber at the other side of the collar being at least largely closed, and an atomizing nozzle within the chamber directed toward the open end thereof and provided with a water supply pipe adjacent the closed end of the chamber.

2. In a humidifier, the combination with a chamber provided intermediate its ends with a mounting for attachment to the wall of an air circulation duct, said chamber having a discharge port arranged to deliver material within said duct at one side of said mounting, a nozzle within said chamber directed toward the outlet thereof and adapted to deliver atomized liquid with substantial momentum toward said outlet, and means providing a supply conduit communicating with said chamber behind said nozzle and opening at the same side of the mounting as the discharge port of said chamber, whereby to take air from said duct for circulation through said chamber to the discharge port thereof.

3. In a device of the character described. the combination with a casing having a closed end and provided interiorly with partition means dividing said easing into upper and lower passages communicating adjacent the closed end of the casing and both opening adjacent the other end of the casing, a mounting for said casing disposed intermediate the ends thereof, and a nozzle disposed in one of said passages and directed toward the open end thereof, said nozzle including means for atomizing liquid supplied thereto without destroying the momentum of such liquid, whereby such liquid will entrain and circulate through said passages air from one side of said mounting.

4. In a device of the character described, the combination with a casing having a closed end and provided interiorly with partition means dividing said casing into upper and lower passages communicating adjacent the closed end of the casing and both opening adjacent the other end of the casing, a mounting for said casing disposed intermediate the ends thereof, and a nozzle disposed in one of said passages and directed toward the open end thereof, said nozzle including means fcr atomizing liquid supplied thereto without destroying the momentum of such liquid, whereby such liquid will entrain and circulate through said passages air from one side of said mounting, a damper in one of said passages for controlling circulation therethrough, and means extending through the closed end of said casing for regulating the position of said damper, said nozzle being provided with a water pipe connection likewise extending through the closed end of said casing.

5. A humidifier comprising the combination with a chamber of rectangular cross section and air humidifying means carried thereby, of a mounting collar therefor including a pair of plates rectangularly notched to engage about said chamber and slidable upon each other for adjustable engagement with opposite sides of with respect to said chamber.

EDWARD J. GARDNER. 

